My journey into herbalism began more than ten years ago with a simple curiosity about the plants growing on my acreage. I wanted to grow and forage food, and after attending a herb walk with a local herbalist, I discovered an entirely new world of plant medicine.

Those early days of gathering rose hips, yarrow, and plantain were joyful and eye-opening. But I quickly realized that if I truly wanted to work with plants in a meaningful way, I needed a deeper foundation.

I am completing my studies in Integrative Herbalism at The Hollow Reed School of Healing Arts and Herbals under Master Herbalist Chad Cornell. The past three years have shaped me profoundly, not only in knowledge, but in perspective. I’ve learned to see health as layered and interconnected, influenced by nourishment, stress, rhythm, and long-term patterns rather than isolated symptoms.

As a wife, mother of two, and business owner, I know what it feels like to balance family, work, and responsibility and to consistently place your own needs at the bottom of the list. For many women — especially mothers — over-giving becomes normal. We push through fatigue. We ignore early warning signs. We tell ourselves we’ll rest later.

In my own life, I’ve seen how costly that pattern can be. My mother died when she was only fifty years old. Losing her so young shaped the way I think about women’s well-being. It impressed upon me that vitality is not something we can assume will always be there. It must be tended, protected and rebuilt when necessary.

That understanding shapes the way I work with women today: thoughtfully, collaboratively, and with long-term resilience in mind.